Getting Ya Toes Wet

Kestro leisurely ambled onto the swampy ground of Cattail Marsh. He didn't carry his journal or writing tools with him, having left those with a fellow Windrose Scout; Saturn the Cubone. He and the ground type had explored the nearby Serene Cave over a rumor, and after they'd learn the truth of it, the pair decided to part ways. Given that Kestro had written most of the notes on the dungeon and what they discovered, he'd loaned his notes to Saturn so that the Cubone could write up their reports.

Kestro decided to explore the surrounding area, though he didn't feel like compiling more notes for reports. He already had his Monochrome Ruins report to still do, and he'd hope to return to Fallen Leaf Copse to help Saturn finish up their joint reports. He could always return another day to write reports. For now he simply wanted to enjoy exploring someplace farther from Grassveil than Windrose.

He smiled to himself. It felt nice to not have a reason to explore, and the Cranidos began his relaxing stroll through the marsh again, curious to see what Cattail Marsh had to offer him.

[Energy: 31-15 = 16]

Sanja: {24 - 15 (entrance) = 9}

Items:

Sanja padded her way into the salty wetness, incredibly annoyed that not only was she getting her paws wet and soaked in mud, but the natural suction of the marsh kept her from running. At the very least, the ground didn't hurt her, but the mental anguish was more than enough to make the Eevee wish she could just give in. Not even a flick of her paws after resurfacing from the gunk could get rid of the sticky substance. She genuinely hated how it stuck to her fur, so she did everything in her power to keep the rest of her body above the surface.

"Gross..." She complained lowly, shaking her forepaw before her face in disgust. Why did I even come here... Of course, the speed-seeking Pokemon already knew the answer to that: she wanted to continue her speed training by testing herself in an environment that was difficult to traverse. However, she had highly underestimated the marsh's ability to trap others into the essential sinkholes across the entire area. Her only saving grace was the Cattails littered randomly throughout, waving as if they were swamp spirits guiding Sanja in the right direction. There was a strange sense of comfort she felt around familiar herbs or plants, especially since she recalled certain uses for them as medicine back at her Clan. It was bittersweet, more than anything, so she abruptly stopped projecting the spirits of her old friends onto the reeds and continued forward with her goal.

First, she tried lifting her legs out like she would if she were about to break into a run, which didn't take long for her to realize how difficult and clumsy that would feel. There was no way she could launch herself like she normally did on solid ground without falling face-first into the muck surrounding her. If that wouldn't work, maybe she could try something more like a trot? Back on her territory, the biggest obstacles she had were trees and rivers, which she mastered back in the forests she grew up in. Of course, she loved a challenge, especially a brand new one. For a while, she stood in place, scanning her environment for a goal to run toward.

Kestro found travelling through the marshy land somewhat easier than Sanja. Despite weighing eight times the average Eevee, Kestro's clawed foot was splayed. This helped spread his weight over a wider area than the Eevee's small paws. Plus there's the fact that Kestro did what he could to keep to the shallower waters and sturdier ground of the dungeon. This also kept him near the shorter stalks of cattails, the fossil Pokemon's dark green and grey scales making him look like some odd moving stone in  the marsh.

That and the fact that each step he made caused a noise squelch of the waterlogged ground underneath him. He wasn't bothered by it much, and to be quite honest found the feeling odd and unique compared to the rough sands of his birthplace or the soft grass and leaves of Grassveil and the surrounding forests. Even the rivers and lakes near Grassveil didn't have wet, muddy shores like this marsh. Kestro always found them with rounded river stones quickly followed by the leaf-litter covered ground.

The rock type was a bit wary, though. Such a wet area was no doubt filled with water types, which would be a challenge for Kestro. Which... honestly didn't sound so bad to Kestro now that he thought about it. Without having to worry over his record materials, Kestro could focus on more on building his physical strength.

Sanja: {9}

Items:

Sanja did struggle to traverse with her mud-plastered skin and fur, but she was at least grateful it hadn't solidified and rendered her immobile. Even if she hated it, she was going to have to stay dirty until she found clear water. Besides, it would all be worth it if she could become even more speedy in various terrains. That alone got her adrenaline pumping, the chemical determination blocking out all senses but hearing. Selecting a particularly large cluster of cattails to chase, the Eevee began. Or, at least she tried to; from the amount of time she had just stood there, she hadn't realized how much she sunk into the marsh flat, so the only thing she managed to do was launch her body forward into the mud, nose pointed up in shock in attempt to keep her face dry. Her feet remained in the exact same position as they were before, pulled in completely by the bizarrely spongey terrain.

"Aw, great," she couldn't help but complain out loud. "This is gonna take forever to wash out."
She looked down at her matted mane in disdain, already regretting even coming here in the first place. Truthfully, though, training wasn't the only reason why she arrived here. A few rumors floating around Grassveil had her interest piqued, and she wanted to be the legendary one to seek them out. Earthquakes were something she had never experienced as a kit, what living in a forest with no ground-types and being highly distant from a faultline. She was both curious about what they felt like, and what was the actual cause.

The Eevee's ears were practically as stuck to her head as the mud was to her fur, shaking on occasion before stopping herself from spraying mud everywhere. Finally, upon approaching solid ground, nearby movement caught her attention, stopping her in her tracks so she could locate just where the Pokemon was without being spotted first. If she hadn't been spotted first. But hopefully, her brown fur and mud-covered body helped her keep a low profile until she could find the source of the noise.

Kestro's head raised up as he heard something over his own wet footsteps. It sounded like a voice, but the Cranidos hadn't been paying attention. He waited for a moment, but heard nothing else. The rock type shrugged in his head, perhaps he misheard. He started trudging forward again, pushing through the cattails as he did his best to stay on solid ground. He passed only a few feet in front of the muddied Eevee. At first he didn't notice her, but a glint of light reflecting off of her eyes brought Kestro to a halt mid-step.

The fossil Pokemon looked directly towards the muddied Eevee, lowering his foot back down slowly. "Um...hi?" he said, unsure of what to make of the Eevee. If it even was an Eevee, with all that mud plastered over it Kestro couldn't half tell what it was.

Dracorexion carried out 5 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

, , , ,

Sanja: {9 - (roll)}

Items:

Sanja's fur bristled and her tail whipped once she realized she was spotted, still firmly planted in the muck below. The strange Pokemon seemed confused by her presence, as his questioning voice seemed to imply. Once the situation was more clear, her tensed skin relaxed slightly, dropping her tail and ears in a low and wary position.
"Yeah, hi," she returned bitterly, still standing to face the stranger, tail lashing with her suppressed fury. Clearly, he meant no harm, but she hated the implication in his tone that suggested no other Pokemon should be around. It was a dungeon, of course there would be. Dismissing his existence with another swipe of her tail, she continued padding over to the shore, cleaning off all the mud that clung to her fur. She refused to let it show, but anything heavier than a feather threw off her balance. Her fur continued to stand on end the longer she noticed the presence of the other.

"Do you want something?" She scoffed in between her grooming licks. Should this had been a Pokemon she could recognize, she wouldn't have been so hostile, but without identification, she had no idea what this creature was capable of. He could be dangerous, so she refused to let him get past her tough attitude. Then again, memories of conflict in the past reminded her that rudeness was not always the best approach; who knows who could get offended by her nature. Completing her cleaning, she sat forward, wrapping her tail around her feet in a poise position to face the clothed Pokemon. It was bizarre to her, but she decided against commenting on it. In her Clan, the most a member would adorn would be a small, natural accent, similar to the small ribbon she attached to her upper ear. It was almost uncomfortable to imagine strapping that much to one body, and another thought made her eyes narrow: what if he was hiding something?

Despite her suspicions, Sanja allowed herself to continue any conversation that this 'mon might desire, even at the sacrifice of her own time. If she could manage, maybe she could even milk personal information out of this guy so she could determine how to react should things go awry, so she at least supposed to listen.

aMEWzing carried out 4 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

, , ,

Kestro blinked at the Eevee's tone. He huffed indignantly, but thought better than to try and correct her tone. Given the mud she was covered in, he probably just happened upon her at a bad time. At least that was his own reasoning, whether or not that was entirely true he didn't know. The rock type took a step back to allow the Eevee to pass him onto the drier, more solid shore of the marsh.

At her question, Kestro raised a brow at the Eevee's continued rude tone. He adjusted the glasses on his snout, "I'm just exploring. Thought I'd take a break from my work," he said. In all honesty Kestro wasn't used to having this much clothing on himself. He'd only recieved it recently in a package from his adopted grandmother. It was something she made based on scholars and merchants who visited their oasis village back in the day. While he was still growing accustomed to the garb, he certainly appreciated the bag it came with. It was a much needed upgrade compared to the single sack he carried before, complete with pockets that let him sort out his items better.
"Um, my name's Kestro. Sorry if I stumbled on you at a bad time," he added. While he still felt that the Eevee's tone was certainly rude, Kestro wasn't quite in the mood to start a fight. Though he doubted an Eevee could really put up a fight with a rock type like him, even if he lacked his typing's normally high defenses.

Sanja: {9 - 14 = 0}

Items:

Despite his strong appearance, this Pokemon seemed somewhat of a pushover, assuming it wasn't just an act. This pleased Sanja somewhat, allowing her to calm her intense suspicions of the other Pokemon and making her seem much less irritable. Her curiosity and judgment still remained for his attire, though, especially when he adjusted his spectacles of unknown use to the wild Eevee.
"That's nice." She commented, though her mind was clearly elsewhere. As he apologized, her face remained blank, but her tail swished as if to indicate some emotion, be it amusement annoyance or pleasure. "You don't gotta apologize. For what it's worth if you hadn't said anything I probably woulda thought you were feral and totally have kicked your tail," she proclaimed confidently, so much so that not even a hint of smugness crossed onto her voice. She had no reason to show off to this guy, that's how sure she was that she would exceed his abilities.

Part of her lack of focus on their conversation was due to her attempting to come across as carefree of the other Pokemon's presence, hoping to spread the idea that she was never really startled in the first place. The other was due to the fact that she was staring down some local Pokemon several body-lengths away, watching the elder water type carefully push along the smaller one away from the hostile normal-type newcomer. She enjoyed being feared by prey somewhat; at least it made her less approachable and more likely to be successful in her endeavors. No distractions, no failures, or so she convinced herself anyway. Ironically, even following this philosophy, she spent more focus on the items at the ground than her surroundings, contemplating popping her latest food item into her mouth so long as it were clean. Maybe that can wait for after conversation...

Kestro blinked a couple of times before raising his brow at the Eevee. Her? Beat him? Surely she was joking, though she didn't seem to be as he looked over her. The Cranidos let out a huff as a smirk formed on his face. "That a challenge?" the Rock type asked. He took the glasses off, sliding them into a pocket on his bag. "Cause I could go for a spar that's not to avoid death or getting eaten," he added, adjusting the turban on his head and the gold neck piece of his outfit.

He still wasn't used to the clothing, let alone battling in it. The clothing didn't really restrict his movement, so he had no worries on that. Though he wasn't sure if the turban on his head would lessen the power of his headbutting moves. At the very least he knew he could take it to his grandmother to get it repaired.

Energy = 7

Sanja: {0 + 5 (Apple) + 1 (Blue Gummi) = 6}

Items:

Kestro seemed to take her claim in a completely different way than she imagined, inciting a challenge from her confidence. She didn't know what he meant by the last string of words he added after "spar," but that's not what mattered in the now. She seemed to have a battle ahead of her, and that was something she certainly couldn't turn down; she never passes on a chance for improvement of skill. With a smirk and suppressed snort at the Pokemon's adjustment of his body-coverings, Sanja excitedly barked a "You're on! as she quickly stuffed some food in her mouth and crouched into a ready position.

She liked how ready he was to fight for basically no reason. To Sanja, there was no greater thrill than competition, and so long as her opponent wasn't a sore anything, she appreciated an alignment of ideals. The first thing she did was start sizing him up: he seemed to have strong, powerful legs, and an even more dangerous jaw lined with a sharp rim. His tail could be equally powerful, should he know any moves involving it, which could be likely. His weaknesses, she could see him having poor balance due to his body's weight shift—so long as she was strong enough to fight his muscular legs, it would be relatively easy to take him down so long as his weight was shifted onto one leg, due to walking or running or anything else. However, judging his girth and weight pressing into the ground, that was not a very practical approach. His clothes, however, could get in the way, especially if she forced them in his way. Then again, if apparel was sacred to her Clan, it may be equally so to this Pokemon, and she did not want to disrespect that. Within the few seconds of her silence and evaluation, she continued to ponder weaknesses to utilize to her advantage.

Kestro's smirk widened as the Eevee stuffed her face and crouched down. For his part, the Cranidos simply widened his stance, his front lowering down as his tail raised and curled slightly. "On three or just jump into it?" he asked, the muscles underneath his scales visibly flexing and tensing, just in case the Eevee decided on the latter. He was essentially giving her the first move regardless of whatever she picked. There was little he could do in preparing for it.

That was perfectly fine for Kestro. From his experience with Sekita and the hobo in Shadowhue and Monochrome, he knew Eevee were Normal types, and learned primarily only normal type moves. He wasn't an expert on them, though, so he didn't know what tricks Sanja might have under her fur. Still, his strategy didn't have to change much. All he needed to do was let her get close and either strike her with one of his headbutts or a swipe with his Iron Tail. He'd adapt that strategy depending on how the fight goes. Worst case is that the fight ends up completely one-sided, which probably wouldn't sit too well with either of the confident Pokemon.

Sanja: {6}

Items:

Her tail swished as his eager question made its way into Sanja's studying mind.
"Count of three, of course. No cheating, alright?" She smirked, not inherently suspecting Kestro of such a thing, but setting the rules just so that nothing could go awry. The Eevee may play dirty at times, but she still plays according to the rules. There weren't exactly "rules" to sparring except utilizing moves and terrain as well as ensuring your partner didn't faint—simply a fight to determine a victor, at least according to her Clan.

Determining what to do for her first move, Sanja steadied herself and began counting down from 3, evenly-paced as to not cause confusion or uncertainty. That would definitely be unfair.
"Two..." At this point, her adrenaline flushed her body in preparation. She needed to know what he was capable of. It was exciting, dreadful, intriguing, all at once, she played her previous battle experience in her head as if to review strategy.
"One." Her heart throbbed in time to her speech, the sparks of her energy bursting to her muscles all at once, pounding, flexing, contracting, and dashing without time to process where she was going. On autopilot, she circled the dinosaur, finding the most opportune moment to strike.

Kestro nodded at her rules, "Cheating would just take the fun out of it," he commented. His claws dug into the mud on, "Two." His eyes narrowed as he already tried to out think her. Which way would she move? To the left? The right? Would she charge right towards him? Even just seconds away from her first move, he couldn't tell. "One," and she was off.

She was clearly faster. As her body propelled her around him, Kestro's tail gained a metallic glow. He spun to try and catch her with it, but he'd misjudged her body, and swung in the wrong direction. Seconds slowed down as he tried to adjust. The powerful swing left him off balance, standing erect with his chest and belly exposed to the normal type. His eyes focused on her, a purple-pink hue appearing over his turban as he tried to switch to a Zen Headbutt.